Monday, February 29, 2016

Zero Day by Jan Gangsei

“Trust No One.”

Addie Webster disappeared without a trace from the Governor’s Mansion while her father was  Governor of Virginia. Eight years old at the time, she and her best friend, Darrow Fergusson, were playing a game of Connect Four that turned out badly when Darrow was about to win but Addie ruined the game so that she wouldn’t lose. Arguing, Addie stomps off. A few minutes later, Darrow realizes that he can never stay mad at Addie and goes to look for her. After an hour of searching, it becomes evident that she is missing. Addie is gone without a trace. Darrow, whose mother is Governor Webster’s Chief of Staff, blames himself. He keeps a red checker from the game in his pocket as a reminder that maybe some day he will get a do over as far as addie is concerned.

Eight years have passed and Governor Mark Webster is now President Mark Webster. He is in the middle of his turbulent first term. When a girl appears at a truck stop in the middle of Pennsylvania claiming to be the missing Adele Webster, the Secret Service begins a relentless train of questioning. A DNA test is performed and the results come back that the girl claiming to be Adele Webster is in fact Addie. Reintroduction with her family now living in the White House goes as well as expected, especially since her young sister Ellie isn’t there. Addie also meets her replacement, youngest sister Mackenzie, who doesn’t understand what is going on. Soon, someone realizes that Addie has more than a few secrets about her abduction and return.

In the midst of Addie’s reappearance, Cerberus ups it’s cyber attacks. President Webster is against electronic surveillance and the government has widely scaled back on “spying” on its citizens. Cerberus, an unknown terrorist group who believes President Webster is wrong in his surveillance stance, is trying to prove how easily cyber attacks can happen. Up until six months ago when Cerberus stopped the U.S nuclear power grid from melting down, the group had only been known to disrupt terrorist run Web sites and altering authorities. Not happy with President Webster’s stance on surveillance, Cerberus is attacking sites around the capital to show how wrong he is. One person, General James McQueen who was named by the president to look into Cerberus, is investigating what is going on and he believes Addie Webster is involved some how. He “recruits” Darrow to spy on her, who doesn’t like having his hand forced. Soon, thrust into the political storm surrounding Addie Webster, Darrow is looking to not fail his friend a second time.

The question now becomes, why after all of these years has Addie reappeared? Will Darrow spy on his friend? What really happened to Addie during the eight years she spent captive? Who was her captor and what reason was she taken? What secrets is Addie hiding from everyone? Can Darrow save Addie Webster?

Readers will be racing for the end of this book full of mystery, political intrigue and psychological thriller.

Visit Jan Gangsei‘s website.

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